Hoodwinked! Bamboo--zled!
Or, This Post Was Written Using Just Two Letters: P and A.
I Was There, In The Beginning…
…in fact I was a part of the beginning. Sort of.
Farhan reached out to me during my Spider-Squirrel #2 campaign and told me about his Battle Panda #1 launch. I thought the premise was fun, so we chatted it up. By the end of the discussion, we had worked out a cross-campaign pinup promotion featuring four of our characters together (Spider-Squirrel, Trash Panda, Leo “A Cat”, and of course, Kai the titular lead).
I ended up backing BP1 and really enjoyed it. It’s a book that appeals to a broad audience and various reading levels and is packed with really cool art by Carlos Angeli and a joke-riddled script by Farhan. It’s a fun & engaging book.
Battle Brief
Battle Panda follows the [mis?]adventures of a young panda martial artist named Kai along with his cat friend (and fellow martial artist) Leo. The two train together to perhaps one day fight off the wicked wolves up the street… er, mountain.
We jump into the book learning that wolves suck and they have now decided to dam up the once-shared river between the two villages and now the panda’s clean water access has been restricted, their reserves depleted, and politicians being politicians about the whole darn thing.
Kai and Leo set off to right the wrongs, face down the wolves, and soon realize maybe everything is not what it appears to be… and the wisdom of an old owl comes into play (she really uses her melon — you’ll see).
Battle Panda is The Goonies meets Kung Fu Panda with a side of lies and a political shake…up. Monsters. Mayhem. Martial Arts. Mix-ups. Menageries. Mischief. Meetings (the biggest monster of all).
Battle Debrief aka Keep Your Pants On
I intentionally avoided panda puns this whole post (well, the post title and subheading notwithstanding)… it’s starting to hurt holding them back. Consider yourself lucky.
Battle Panda is a fun adventure that will appeal to younger readers and older ones alike — heck, you might even find a few teens who enjoy it, though teens don’t enjoy anything but complaining, really, I mean my daughter just this morning sai—oh, sorry. Parental pain recall. Anyway, it’s a book for fans & readers of Scott Fogg’s Nightcare, Power Pack, Panda Khan, and yes, Kung Fu Panda. It would be more like KFP if there were more belching, farting, and butt-jokes, but this book is lacking in those respects (but not lacking in heart or humor).
Lighthearted and delightful with a sweeping story that’s deeper than the cover, Battle Panda is a book that I look forward to continuing to support and will keep sharing with my younger readers. Farhan, Carlos, and the whole team have crafted a quality production that I hope continues for some time to come.
Battle Rating
🌰🌰🌰🌰 (4/5 Acorns)
Follow the Battle Panda 1-3 Prelaunch here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/farhanq/battle-panda-1-3
